We
hinted yesterday that it might happen, and it seems that it will.
The Atlanta Thrashers will call up 48-year old defenseman Chris Chelios
from their AHL affiliate. With Cristoph Shubert out for at least three
weeks or so, the Thrashers were short on defense and have a dire need
for veteran leadership. They’ll kill two birds with one stone with
Chelios.

The age jokes are inevitable. The Thrashers’ youngest
player, Evander Kane, wasn’t even born yet and Chelios had already won a
Stanley Cup and a Norris Trophy. He doesn’t even look like a hockey
player anymore; you expect a man of his… gruffness.. to be a coach or a
front office guy, not some ‘geezer’ out on the ice playing with the
kids. I can only imagine the reaction he’ll get once he plays in a game.

Chelios obviously still has something left in the tank, as he’s
dominated the AHL all season long. His leadership and experience cannot
be measured and he’ll be a vital piece in Atlanta as they fight to try
and make the playoffs.

I said it last night and I’ll say it again:
how ironic is it that Chelios is getting another shot in the NHL
because a player half his age has a hip injury?

Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk has been the most difficult goalies to score against this season. Leave it to a high-level player like Leon Draisaitl to make it look this, well, “easy.”

Draisaitl scored his 13th goal of 2016-17 by capping this pretty give-and-go play with Benoit Pouliot. You can see the frustration from Dubnyk at the end of the tally, as if he was saying “How was I supposed to stop that?” (though probably with more colorful language).

Draisaitl came into Friday with five goals and three assists in his last five games, so he’s been almost unstoppable lately.